The following is an excerpt from a speech delivered by the Right Honourable Brian Mulroney at the Lord Reading Society Dinner in Montreal on March 13.

By Brian Mulroney

A challenge to visionary leadership in Canada and elsewhere is anti-Semitism.

Anti-Semitism is born in ignorance and nurtured in envy. It is the stepchild of delusion and evil.

The ongoing success of Canada’s Jewish community is consequently often misunderstood, misrepresented and misreported. The rise in the number of attacks on Jews and Jewish institutions in Canada testifies to the intractability of the problem and the constant need for vigilance, consistency and strength in dealing with the entire sweep of anti-Semitism.

The rise in the number of attacks … testifies to the intractability of the problem

In Dante’s Inferno it is noted that “the hottest place in hell is reserved for those who in times of great moral crisis, strive to maintain their neutrality.” In fact, ambivalence on an issue of such importance is for the cowardly, which is why each of us must stand up and be counted, and why our elected leaders cannot duck or dodge.

Anti-Semitic incidents are on the rise everywhere including in this country, where B’nai B’rith reported a 26-per-cent increase in events — such as harassment, vandalism and violence — to 1,752, a record high; to the U.K., where the clueless leader of the Official Opposition directs a motley and pathetic crew that includes open anti-Semites and proud opponents of Israel; to the Continent, where Jeffrey Goldberg reported in The Atlantic that in a recent year 51 per cent of all racist attacks in France targeted Jews although Jews account for only one per cent of France’s population; to the U.S. Congress, where a Democratic representative aroused enormous concerns when she publicly decried “dual loyalties” involving American Jews and Israel.

Vandalized tombs defaced with swastikas are seen in the Jewish cemetery of Quatzenheim, in eastern France, on Feb.19, 2019.Jean-Francois Badias/AP

So new steps must be taken. Among them, the federal government should consider the appointment of a blue-ribbon panel composed of Canada’s most distinguished citizens.

They could examine the growth of Holocaust denial, introduce action in co-operation with the provinces and territories of obligatory education about the Holocaust and the courageous history of Jewish survival, and urge the consideration and implementation of a national action plan to combat anti-Semitism, as Norway and France have done.

Only if Canada reaches out to our youth to obliterate anti-Semitism … will real progress be made in a manner that will honour our citizenship in this splendid country of which we are all so proud.

Only if Canada reaches out to our youth to obliterate anti-Semitism … will real progress be made

After all, according to the Azrieli Foundation, 22 per cent of young Canadian adults haven’t heard about, or weren’t sure they had heard about, the Holocaust. In addition, 49 per cent of young adults in the same survey couldn’t name a concentration camp.

I took an extremely strong stand while prime minister against anti-Semitism in all of its forms. I stood proudly with the Jewish community and with those determined to provide unshakeable support for the state of Israel. Let us always maintain that noble tradition.

Leaders must have vision and they must find the courage to fight for the policies that will give that vision life. Leaders must govern not for easy headlines in 10 days but for a better Canada in 10 years — and they must be ready to endure the attacks that often accompany profound or controversial change, while they await the distant and compelling sounds of a verdict that only history and a more reflective nation can render in the fullness of time. …

Leaders must govern not for easy headlines in 10 days but for a better Canada in 10 years

From the bloodied sands of Afghanistan to the pristine snows and surging waters of the high Arctic — and everything in between — the Canada of 50 years from now will be defined by the leadership we are given today.

If all of us remember that freedom and liberty and the protection of minority rights are the very pillars of our national democracy, we can collectively make a contribution to the well-being of mankind that will bring honour to Canada and peace and prosperity to all her citizens.

When my assistant said there was a call from the White House, I picked up, said 'Hello' and started to ask if this was a prank

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